Chauhans Dynasty History: Founders, Rulers, Inscriptions & Important Facts

History of Chauhan Dynasty and List of Important Facts:

The Chauhan dynasty is one of the famous vassals of the Rajputs. The founder of Chauhan dynasty was Vasudev Chauhan. 'Chavan' or 'Chouhan' is a dynasty of Aryan race of North India. Chauhan Gotra comes under Rajputs. Many scholars say that Chauhans lived in Sambhar Lake, Pushkar, Amer and present-day Jaipur (Rajasthan), which have now spread all over North India. Apart from this, there is a significant number of them in Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh) and Alwar district also.

Famous Rulers of Chauhan Dynasty:

Among the many branches of the Chauhan dynasty, 'Shakambhari Chauhan' (the area around Sambhar-Ajmer) was established by Vasudev in the 7th century. After Vasudeva, many feudatories like Purnatalla, Jayaraj, Vigraharaj I, Chandraraja, Gopraja ruled. Ruler Ajaydev established the city of 'Ajmer' and at the same time got the beautiful palace and temple built here. The main rulers of 'Chouhan dynasty' were as follows-

List of Rulers of Chauhan Dynasty:

1. Vasudev Chauhan (around 551 AD)
2. Vigraharaj II (about 956 AD)
3. Ajaydev Chauhan (around 1113 AD)
4. Arnoraj (circa 1133 to 1153 AD)
5. Vigraharaj IV Bisaldev (about 1153 to 1163 AD)
6. Prithviraj III (1178-1192 AD)

1. Vasudev Chauhan: The original place of Chauhans is believed to be Sapadalaksha around Sambhar in Jangal country, their initial capital was Ahichhatrapur (Nagaur). According to the Bijolia inscription, the founder of the Chauhan dynasty of Sapadalaksha was a person named Vasudev Chauhan, who started this dynasty around 551 AD. According to the Bijolia inscription, Sambhar lake was also constructed by him. Ajpal, the descendant of this, established the 7th Sambhar town and established Ajaymeru fort.
2. Vigraharaj II: Among the early rulers of the Chauhan dynasty, the son of the most prolific king Singhraj was Vigraharaj-II, who became the ruler of Sapalaksha around 956 AD. He defeated the Chalukya ruler Mulraj I of Anhilpatan and forced him to pay taxes and built the temple of his Kuldevi Ashapura Mata in Bharuch. A detailed description of the period of Vigraharaj is obtained from the inscription of Harshnath of 973 AD.
3. Ajayraj: The second famous ruler of Chauhan dynasty was Ajayraj, who (according to Prithviraj Vijay) settled Ajaymeru (Ajmer) around 1113 AD and made it the capital of his kingdom. He defeated the Chalukya ruler Mulraj I of Anhilapatan. He issued silver coins in the name of Shri Ajaydev. His queen Somlekha also issued coins in his name.
4. Arnoraj: After Ajayraj, Arnoraj took over the rule of Ajmer around 1133 AD. Arnoraj defeated the Turkish invaders badly and got Anasagar Lake constructed in Ajmer. The Chalukya ruler Kumarapala defeated it in a battle near Abu. The description of this war is found in the Prabandha Kosha. Arnoraj himself, being a Shaivite, was tolerant of other religions. He got the Varaha-temple built in Pushkar.
5. Vigraharaj IV: Vigraharaj-IV (Bisaldev) ascended the throne of Ajmer around 1153 AD. He greatly expanded the boundaries of his kingdom. He defeated Amir Khushrushah (Hammir), the ruler of Ghazni, defeated the Tomar ruler of Delhi and annexed Delhi to his kingdom. Being a good warrior and general, he was the ruler and also the patron of scholars. There were scholarly poets like Somdev in his court. Who composed the play 'Lalit Vigraharaj'. Vigraharaj was known as 'Kavi Bandhav' due to being the patron of scholars. Vigraharaj himself wrote the play 'Harikeli'. His period is also called the 'Golden Age' of Chohan's rule.
6. Prithviraj-III: Prithviraj Chauhan III, the last majestic emperor of the Chauhan dynasty, was born in 1166 AD (V.S. 1223) to Anhilpatan (daughter of Delhi's ruler Anangpal Tomar) queen Karpoori Devi of Someshwar, the Chauhan ruler of Ajmer. Gujarat) took place. Due to the untimely death of his father, Prithviraj III became the master of the throne of Ajmer at the young age of only 11 years. But within a very short time, Prithviraj-Tutiya, with his ability and valor, took the entire administration in his hands. After that he eliminated the enemies around him one by one and assumed the title of Dalpangul (World Conqueror). The heroic general, Emperor Prithviraj, was defeated by the Muslim invader Muhammad Ghori in the Second Battle of Tarain for some reason and the foundation of Muslim rule was laid in the country.

Major military campaigns and victories of Prithviraj-III:

1. Suppression of Nagarjuna and Bhandanakas: Shortly after Prithviraj took over the reign, his cousin Nagarjuna revolted. He was trying to get the rule of Ajmer, so Prithviraj, with the help of his minister Kaimas, defeated him with military force and took Gadapura (Gurgaon) and the surrounding area under his control. After this, in 1182 AD, Prithviraj put an end to the rebellions of the Bhandanakas in the Bharatpur-Mathura region.
2. Victory over the Chandelas of Mahoba: Prithviraj defeated Parmal (Parmardi) Dev, the Chandela ruler of Mahoba, in 1182 AD and forced him to a treaty and took many of his villages under his control.
3. Victory over the Chalukyas: Around 1184, the war of Nagaur took place between Jagdesh Pratihara, the prime minister of the Chalukya ruler Bhimdev-II of Gujarat, and Prithviraj's army, after which a treaty was made between the two and the Chauhan's long rivalry with the Chalukyas came to an end.
4. Relations with Kannauj: At the time of Prithviraj, Katrauj was ruled by the Gahadwal ruler Jaychand. The ambitions of both Jaichand and Prithviraj for expansion of the kingdom had created animosity between them. After that, due to the taking away of his daughter Sanyogita by Prithviraj from Swayamvar, the enmity of both of them had increased, that is why Jaichand helped Muhammad Ghori by not helping Prithviraj in the Tarain war.

Major Branches of Chauhan Dynasty:

Chauhan Dynasty of Rajasthan:

There were many clans of Chauhans in Rajasthan, who ruled here from time to time and made the soil proud. The 'Chauhan' and 'Guhil' rulers continued to be the patrons of scholars, due to which education and literary progress among the people continued without any hindrance. Similarly, architecture flourished in an atmosphere of constant conflict. The aesthetic and spiritual consciousness of this period kept alive the artistic plans. The temples of Chittor, Barauli and Abu are proof of this statement. The following were the main branches of the Chauhan dynasty-

• Chauhan of Sambhar
• Chauhans of Ranthambore
• Chauhan of Jalore
• Chauhan clan Hada Rajput

Chauhan of Ranthambore: After the defeat of Prithviraj in the second battle of Tarain, his son Govindraj ruled the Chauhan dynasty in Ranthambore after some time. His successor Valhan was defeated by Delhi Sultan Iltutmish and captured the fort. The ruler of this dynasty, Vagbhatta, re-established the rule of Chauhan dynasty by taking control of the fort. The most majestic and last ruler of Ranthambore, Hammir Dev gave refuge to the rebel military leader Muhammad Shah, so the Sultan of Delhi, Alauddin Khilji, attacked Ranthambore. In the last war in 1301 AD, Hammir Chauhan was defeated and the queens committed Jauhar in the fort and all the Rajput warriors were killed. On July 11, 1301, the fort was captured by Alauddin Khilji. Amir Khusrau was with Alauddin's army in this war.

Chauhans of Jalore: Jalore was on the way from Delhi to Gujarat and Malwa. There was the rule of Songra Chauhans in the 13th century, which was founded by Kirtipal Chauhan of Nadol branch. The ancient name of Jalore was Jabalipur and the fort here is called 'Suvarnagiri'. In 1305, Kanhadde Chauhan became the ruler of this place. Alauddin Khilji made a plan to take over Jalore. Siwana fort is on the way to Jalore, so first Alauddin Khilji attacked Siwana fort in 1308 AD and won it and named it 'Khairabad' and appointed Kamaluddin Gurg as the fort guard there. Veer Satal and Som Veer Gati were attained in the year 1311 AD. In AD Alauddin attacked Jalore fort and after several days of siege, Alauddin was victorious in the final battle and all the Rajputs were martyred. Veer Kanhaddev Songra and his son Veeramdev attained Veergati while fighting. After this victory, Alauddin got a mosque built in Jalore. The information about this war is found in Padmanabha's texts Kanhadde and Veeramdev Sonagara.

Chauhan of Nadol: The founder of this branch of Chauhan was Lakshman Chauhan, son of Shakambhari Naresh Vakpati, who established the rule of Chauhan dynasty by independent himself from the suzerainty of Chavda Rajputs around 960 AD. Kirtipal Chauhan of Nadol branch in 1177 AD. By defeating the Mewar ruler Samtansingh, he took Mewar under his control. Around 1205 AD, the Chauhans of Nadol merged with the Chauhan branch of Jalore.

Chauhans of Sirohi: Sirohi was ruled by the Deora branch of Chauhans, which was founded by Lumba around 1311 AD. Their capital was Chandravati. Later, due to repeated Muslim invasions, Sahasmal of this dynasty established Sirohi city in 1425 AD and made it his capital. During this period, Maharana Kumbha subdued Sirohi. In 1823 AD, the ruler of here, Shiv Singh, made a treaty with the East India Company and took the responsibility of security of the state. After independence, Sirohi state was merged with Rajasthan in January 1950.

Chouhan of Hadoti: The areas of present Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar and Barra come in Hadoti. Matsya (Meena) caste resided in this area since the time of Mahabharata. In the medieval period, the kingdom of Meena caste was established here. Earlier this entire area was covered only in Bundi. In 1342 AD, Hada Chauhan Deva defeated the Meenas and established the rule of Chauhan dynasty here. Deva was the descendant of the Chauhans of Nadol. This name of Bundi fell on the ruler of Bunda Meena, Mewar King Kshetra Singh attacked and took Bundi under his control. Since then the rule of Bundi was going on under Mewar. In 1569 AD, the ruler of this place, Surjan Singh accepted Mughal suzerainty by making a treaty with Akbar and since then Bundi became free from Mewar. During the time of Mughal emperor Farrukhshiyar, Bundi King Buddha Singh did not go on a campaign against Jaipur King Jai Singh, renamed the Bundi state as Farrukhabad and gave it to Kota Narash, but after some time Buddha Singh got the kingdom of Bundi back.

Later there were repeated wars regarding the succession of Bundi, in which Maratha, Jaipur king Sawai Jai Singh and Kota intervened. The first entry of Marathas into Rajasthan took place in Bundi, when in 1734 AD. In AD Buddha Singh's Kachwahi queen Anand (Immortal) Kuvari invited Maratha chieftain Holkar and Ranoji in favor of her son Ummed Singh. 1818 AD In AD Vishnu Singh, the ruler of Bundi, made a treaty with the East India Company for protection from the Marathas and the burden of security of Bundi fell on the British army. After the independence of the country, Bundi merged with the Rajasthan Union.

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